Children of Yesterday
by astridrae
Summary: Harry returns from two years of training, hardened and ready to finish the war by himself. But despite wanting to distance himself from those around him, he can't help caring for them no matter how unlikely the friendship. Really, Slytherins aren't that bad after all. Harry/Theo
1. Going Home

**Disclaimer:** The world, setting, and all the characters are the creative property of J.K. Rowling. I am making no money from this work.

 **Author's Note:** This is the most confident and interested in my fanfiction work that I have ever felt. I have tried to write chaptered fanfics before and have never been confident enough to post them or dedicated enough to write the whole fic. That being said, there is a fair chance that this fic will be abandoned at some point. I make no promises to finish it but I will try. I also make no promises about the speed of updates.

I could also use a beta reader for this fic. I am pretty good at catching grammar and spelling errors but I could use someone who can read for fluidity, consistency of tenses, and Brit-picking.

* * *

 **Chapter One: Going Home**

It had been a long year and he and Alastor had traveled the world training. He had met monks in India who taught him how to focus, calm himself, and had helped him work through the emotions he felt after Sirius' death. He had trained with French special forces and Chinese samurai warriors. He had learned to wield all kinds of weapons, magical and muggle, and had turned his own body into one. He could fight unarmed or with a sword, one on one or with a team. He was a weapon, and weapons did the dirty work.

But now Harry was finally going home. He was nervous about what the others would think of him now. Would they know about the things he did while he was away? He knew Alastor hadn't told anyone about the dark magic he had seen Harry use or about the people Harry had killed and even tortured. He just couldn't get over the feeling that he was going to walk in and everyone would see it on his face plain as day.

His body was covered with ugly scars. Scars from burns, scars from swords, scars from cutting spells and stinging hexes. He wasn't the same Harry Potter that left them two years ago. He didn't know how they would react to the Harry he had become and he was terrified that they wouldn't like this Harry. His friends were still so young. They weren't even the same age anymore. He was now a year older than he would have been if he an Alastor hadn't used a time turner. To his friends, he had only been gone for a year, but to him, it had been two. And they didn't have a madman hanging over their head. They hadn't seen the things he had seen or done the things he had done. Mentally he was years ahead of them.

Part of him hoped his friends would want to reconnect with him. He had missed them dearly. In the beginning, their absence hadn't been so noticeable. He had been so consumed by the guilt and grief of Sirius death that he hadn't really thought about them. But after a month or two, he had found himself wanting to tell his best mate about the crazy things the Monks did or tell Hermione about all of the new things he was learning. But part of him also hoped they wouldn't want to reconnect with him because it would be easier to keep them safe if they weren't as close.

* * *

"Alastor when should we be expecting Harry? Dinner is ready, and I don't want anything to get cold while we're waiting."

"Should be here soon, Molly. The lad won't care if we start without him as long as there is some food left for him when he gets here."

Number twelve Grimmauld Place was bursting with order members, all waiting for the arrival Harry Potter. Harry and Alastor had been traveling and training for the past year and had only arrived back in London that morning. The dining room was littered with people chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was more joyous than it had been in quite some time. Lord Voldemort had announced his return a year and a half after Harry left by setting his death eaters on Diagon Alley in the middle of the day. The Death Eaters had been ordered to spread fear and panic and while many were injured, only one life was lost. Finally forced to face reality, the minister began increasing the auror ranks and scheduling patrols in heavily targeted areas. He also began seeking Dumbledore's advice but still only followed the advice which benefitted his re-election.

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, was seated at the head of the table. The man, 116 years old, was starting to show signs of his age. The last few years had been stressful for him. His blue eyes were tired but still twinkled at an amusing joke told by the twins. His forehead was wrinkled and after the duel at the ministry, a year prior his walk had become stiff. For all his physical ails the man was still as kind-hearted and humorous as ever. At present, he was listening to a story told by Nymphadora Tonks.

"So the guy was dueling me and we were having quite the time of it. He was a bloody good dueler for a petty thief, but I was gaining on him. I had him backed up into a wall in an alley down near the apothecary and all the sudden a stunning spell hits the guy from behind me and he goes down. So, I turn with my wand ready thinking, maybe his partner was there and aiming at me when I get hit with an expelliarmus and there's old mad-eye muttering to himself about not teaching proper dueling techniques in auror school with my wand in his hand! And I say to him, "what the hell did you go and do that for. I had the guy." And he just says, "I don't have all night for you to mess around trying to capture one criminal. Hurry up and get the guy to lock up. I've got the other one already."' Tonks was a young auror and metamorphmagus who favored odd, brightly colored hair which was currently violent magenta.

"Alastor never was one to take things slow, were you Al?" asked Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Get in, get the criminal, go home. The quicker the better."

At the other end of the table, Hermione Granger and the four youngest Weasely's were completely oblivious to the adult's conversation. They were busily discussing the return of their friend.

"He can't be that different. I mean, he's still Harry. He just learned some new spells."

"Ron, he didn't just learn new spells. Tonks said Moody had him learn dark spells and had him doing all sorts of survival stuff in the middle of nowhere. He had to fight for his life and that changes people. Plus, it's been a year. Who knows how he has changed. You're not the same person you were in fifth year, are you? And he was grieving for Sirius when he left. Remus hasn't been the same since, and, unlike Harry, he had people who cared about him nearby when he was grieving." Hermione was the most anxious to see her friend. She and Harry had been very close, ever since he and Ron rescued her from the troll in first year. She had written him and at first got no reply but finally, four months after he left, Harry had sent her a letter. It was a short letter and only said that Moody was working him hard and he was doing well. He had warned her he might be hard to reach for a while and he would try to write when he could. After that, she had only received letters once every other month or so and they were always brief and vague. She had written him every week updating him on the things that were happening in school and with the order. She had given all her letters to Professor McGonagall who would pass them on through some secure means the order had of contacting Moody. She had often worried about Harry's happiness while he was away. Not to mention his school work. She had no idea how he had been keeping up. She had already worked out a review schedule for when he came back so they could make sure he was able to pass his NEWTS on time.

Ronald had been less concerned about Harry's whereabouts over the past year. He had struggled with Harry's absence at first, but he had quickly become close with Seamus Finnigan. Now the two were rarely seen apart during the school term.

Ginny, Ron's younger sister, had been smitten with Harry since she had first laid on him when she was only ten years old. She had lamented that Harry had to go away for training so she could not be near him but had moved on rather quickly. She was now been dating Dean Thomas and had been for several months much to Ron's dissatisfaction.

The twins had been doing great for themselves since they left school. They now ran a joke shop in Diagon Alley and expected to open a second store in Hogsmeade before school starts for the new year. They had sent Harry a few of their inventions and even got a reply from him. They were thrilled to find out that Harry had used one of their decoy detonators to create a diversion and it had worked splendidly.

"We really should start eating soon. The turkey is starting to get cold, but I hate to start Harry's welcome home dinner without him. Surely he'll be here soon."

"I'm sure Harry will just be happy to see everyone. He won't care if we started eating dinner without him, Molly." Remus Lupin, a warm, gentle man was the current owner of number twelve Grimmauld Place. He was the closest thing to family that Harry had left. Remus had been friends with James and Sirius during their school years and had helped nurse Sirius back to health after Azkaban. With Sirius' death, Remus lost his last real friend and suffered from deep depression for months. Harry had contacted Remus more than anyone else during his absence. He even met with the werewolf on one occasion a few months into his training.

"Why didn't he come with you, Alastor?" asked Molly.

"He said he had to see someone about a thing. Wasn't very specific and I didn't ask. Best to just let the lad do as he sees fit."

"Isn't it dangerous for him to be out by himself. Surely you should have gone with him."

"He's spent a year training with the best duelers the world has to offer. That boy can take care of himself, Molly. And I thought he could use some privacy. He's spent two years on the move and if the boy wants to seek out a lass then so be it."

"Harry's got a girl?!" shouted Ron.

"Not a steady one but I can't imagine any other reason a lad his age would be as anxious as he was."

"Maybe he just wanted to see a friend that he knew wouldn't be here. He has been gone for ages," Hermione frowned. She expected Harry to be different but when she had last seen him he couldn't even put a sentence together around a girl. She couldn't believe that he would have changed so much in two years that he would be doing Moody was implying.

"I'm sure Mr. Potter is not doing anything unseemly and will be here soon. Personally, I am quite famished," said Dumbledore, quickly put an end to discussion of Harry's whereabouts.

Everyone was nearly finished with their meal when the kitchen door swung open and a man walked through. The man was slightly taller than average height with tanned skin and dark tousled hair. His well-developed muscles and broad shoulders could be seen through the tight short sleeved shirt he was wearing. His emerald eyes sparkled with mischief and on one side of his forehead you could barely make out a lightning shaped scar. Everyone sat motionless as they took in his appearance.

"Nice to see you again, old man."

Albus chuckled and asked, "How are you, Harry?"

"Harry?!" The shout arose from several people sitting around the table but Harry simply smiled and said, "So I guess you're all glad to see me?"


	2. Prophecies

**Disclaimer:** The world, setting, and all the characters are the creative property of J.K. Rowling. I am making no money from this work.

 **Author's Note:** This is the most confident and interested in my fanfiction work that I have ever felt. I have tried to write chaptered fanfics before and have never been confident enough to post them or dedicated enough to write the whole fic. That being said, there is a fair chance that this fic will be abandoned at some point. I make no promises to finish it but I will try. I also make no promises about the speed of updates.

I could also use a beta reader for this fic. I am pretty good at catching grammar and spelling errors but I could use someone who can read for fluidity, consistency of tenses, and Brit-picking.

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Prophecies**

Walking through the kitchen door had been nerve-racking but seeing these people had brought him more joy than he'd felt in a long time. The first face he saw was Dumbledore's. He had seen the headmaster several times since the night the man had told him he was going to be sent away with Alastor to train. The long beard, wrinkled face, and merry blue eyes were a familiar and welcome sight. His eyes didn't linger on Albus for long and soon sought out the two people he had missed more so than any other. He found Hermione's face first. She was exactly as he remembered her. Her curly brown hair and intelligent eyes were exactly the same. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open in shock. Ron stood next to her, mirroring her expression. Ron had grown since they had last seen each other and his hair was shorter. Neither of them seemed to know what to do. Now that they had realized who he was, they both stood, where they had risen from their chairs, frozen.

Alastor was the first to break the silence. "Did you do what ya needed to do, lad?"

"Yeah," Harry replied.

Harry's voice seemed to break Hermione free of her shock as she leaped at him. The force of her colliding with him was enough to make him stumble back.

"I missed you so much, Harry." She was clinging to him with what felt like every ounce of strength she had. Harry felt overwhelmed. He could feel the emotion pouring off her in waves. She still loved him. Even if it was only until she found out what he had been doing during the past year. Right now though, she was still his friend. The relief crashed over him in waves that took his breath away. He had been nervous they would reject him, but he hadn't realized how much he had feared the possibility until now. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair to hide his momentary weakness.

"I missed you too," said Harry.

When she pulled back, he could see the tears in her eyes but she had a smile on her face.

"You've been gone for ages. And, oh, you must be so behind in you're studies! I can't imagine you've had much time for coursework while you were gone. Don't worry, though! We still have two months until term starts and I've already got a revision schedule made up so we can get you caught up on the material you missed while you were gone."

"Geez, Hermione. Let the guy breathe. He just got back," said Ron. Hermione blushed and looked like she was about to argue with him when Ron cut her off.

"Hey mate. It hasn't been the same with you gone." Ron was standing a few feet away, awkwardly shifting his weight from foot to foot. He had grown a few inches since Harry had last seen him but Harry had grown more. They were the same height now, taller than nearly everyone else in the room. Ron looked sheepish. Like he didn't know how to react to Harry's presence.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Harry didn't like this awkwardness between them. He needed to break it. He needed to show Ron that he was still Harry even though he was different. Ron had always been insecure about their friendship and jealous of his fame. Harry needed to show him that he hadn't forgotten about him. He still wanted to be friends.

"You know, a couple of months ago, when Alastor was dragging me through Ireland, I ran into Philip Gallagher at a pub in one of the magical alleyways," said Harry.

"What! No way! You've got to be joshing me."

"I guess one of the beaters, some bloke name Lester I think, stole the bird he had been eyeing and left him there drinking by himself."

"You mean Lester Hodges! Harry, he is one of the best beaters the Cannons have had in a century!"

"Yeah, well. Anyways, I told him my best mate was a cannons fan and he told me a hold on a moment and ran upstairs. He came back down with a jersey and autographed it for me."

"No way! You have an autographed jersey that belonged to Philip Gallagher! You lucky bastard."

"Ronald, language!" snapped Mrs. Weasley

"Sorry mum, but it's Philip Gallagher!" replied Ron, not even trying to look sorry.

"Well, I didn't have him autograph it for me, Ron. I had him autograph it for you. It's in my trunk. I'll pull it out after dinner. Let's just say that makes up for the birthday and Christmas presents I missed this year." Harry watched as Ron's mouth gaped open and he spluttered a bit before, finally, he smiled.

"I missed you." And just like that, the awkwardness between them was gone and Ron was clapping him on the back.

Harry could see Mrs. Weasely making her way through the crowded dining room towards him and he moved to meet her. Even though she was significantly shorter than him now, her hug was suffocating.

"You must be starving, dear. Come and sit down and I'll fix you a plate."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley" replied Harry.

"Call me Molly, dear." Harry sank into the empty seat between Alastor and Bill.

"Bill, nice to see you again. It's been a while."

"Yeah. How was training?"

"Exhausting. Alastor is a slave driver. When he did let me sleep, he'd sneak into my room and scare the shit out of me to make sure I was always prepared for an attack."

Bill chuckled while Alastor glared at him. "Constance vigilance, boy. You can never be too careful."

"Constance vigilance, my arse. You got off on torturing me."

Alastor chuckled and shook his head in response.

"So, how did you go from being the little midget, four-eyed Harry Potter"

"to mister big, and tall, and sexy?" asked the twins, raising their eyebrows in a suggestive sort of way.

"I worked my butt off, " said Harry.

"And what a nice butt it is" replied George."We always did like a good rear end, didn't we Fred?"

"That we did, Georgie. I wonder if little Harry realizes just how nice his arse is? Maybe we should tell him how much we appreciate it."

Harry realized they were trying to embarrass him. When the twins had last seen him, he would have been blushing and spluttering hearing them talk about him like this. Now, it made him smirk. "I do realize I have a fine arse, thank you. Several people have admired it before you." He could see the shocked, and in Hermione's case scandalized, looks on his friend's faces.

The twins acted horrified. "What was our little Harry doing letting people admiring his arse?! You were supposed to be working hard while you were away, young man!"

Harry was enjoying bantering with the twins. They seemed to have realized he wasn't as innocent as he was when he left. "I figured if I was going to admire someone's arse it was only fair that I let them admire mine in return. I couldn't have spent the entire time working. Everyone needs to let loose and have some fun once in awhile."

"And you had this fun by admiring people's arses?" asked George. They were both smirking at him now. He knew where they were going with this. They wanted him to admit to something and shock the room. If he said something too raunchy the adults would probably assume he was making stuff up to encourage the twins. But if he ignored them or tried to change the subject they would think he was still innocent little Harry. He wanted them to know he was an adult now. Dumbledore wanted to step down soon and he was going to be expected to step up and take his place. He wouldn't be able to do that if they all still saw him as a child who was mortified at the mention of sex.

"Among other things…" he replied. He gave a small smirk and a wink. It had worked. Most of the adults were looking at him as if they had just now realized that the man who had walked into the kitchen almost an hour ago was not the boy that had walked out of this very kitchen a year ago.

Alastor had vacated his seat next to Harry at some point during his conversation with the twins and Charlie had sat down. "So other than admiring people's arses, what else did you do while you were gone, Harry? Where did you go after you left the dragon reserve?" asked Charlie.

"Wait, you went to the dragon reserve!?" yelled Ron.

"Yeah, I spent a week there recovering after I took a pretty nasty curse to the back."

"Wait, you were hurt? I thought you were supposed to be training him and keeping him safe Mad-Eye? What were you doing hurling curses at the boy that he wasn't ready to handle? Curses that hurt him enough that he needed to recover for a week!" The outburst had come from a witch that Harry vaguely recognized as one of the people who had picked him from the Dursleys before fifth year. She was standing near the other end of the table and was looking at Moody who seemed to be ignoring her glare.

"It wasn't me who cursed him, Jones." Moody didn't even bother to look up at her as he replied which only seemed to further her anger. She looked ready to rip into him again when Harry intervened.

"It wasn't him. It was a death eater that cursed me that time. I mean, Moody sent a lot of curses my way and landed more of them than I care to admit, but the one that had me in a recovery bed at the dragon reserve wasn't him."

"Death Eaters?! You ran into death eaters while you were training! When? How did they find you?" This time it Mrs. Weasley who spoke. She looked absolutely horrified that death eaters had been able to get to Harry while he had been away. "Albus, I told you sending him off gallivanting around the world to train was a bad idea. He is only a boy, and he was even younger then! He should have been safe at home with us or at Hogwarts getting an education, not training for a war!"

"If everyone will calm down for a moment and please take a seat. There are some things I must explain to you and I will explain some of what Harry has been doing this past year. Everyone is here so we can get the meeting started." Albus had risen from his see and as he spoke the entire room went quiet.

"Fine. Children, upstairs! Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Harry go on." Mrs. Weasley was bustling them out of the room. Hermione and Ginny were getting up and heading towards the door but Ron was ready to start protesting. Harry ignored them all and stayed where he was at.

"Molly, Harry is part of the order now and the children should be allowed to stay for the first part of the meeting while we discuss where Harry has been."

"But Albus! Harry is only sixteen! He can't be part of the order. He is only a child!"

"Molly, I assure you everything will be explained if you'll take a seat." Mrs. Weasley huffed but retook her seat. Hermione and Ginny also sat back down. Ron looked like a kid in a candy store finally being able to sit in on a meeting. Everyone quieted down once again as Albus began to speak.

"Many of you helped to guard the Department of Mysteries during Harry's fifth year but most of you do not know what it was you were guarding. I thank you for placing your trust in me and not asking for that information but now it is time that I share it. Many years ago I was trying to fill the position of Divination professor. I was at the Hog's Head interviewing Sybill Trelawney when she spoke a prophecy." It looked as if several people wanted to interrupt, most likely to tell him that Professor Trelawney was a fraud, but he continued. "As far as I know, this prophecy is one of only two true prophecies that Sybill has ever made. Harry, would you like to recite it for us?" Everyone's heads whipped around to stare at him. He didn't move from his relaxed position other than to tilt his head up to stare at the ceiling.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.…"

He didn't pause when people gasped or protested. His eyes never left the ceiling as he recited the prophecy that dictated his life. It had got his parents killed. It was the reason Neville's parents had been tortured into insanity. It was the reason Sirius was dead. And it was the reason he had spent the last two years turning himself into a weapon.

"Thank you, Harry." The room was in chaos. He could hear Albus trying to calm everyone but still, he didn't move his eyes from the ceiling. He hated that prophecy.

"Harry?" Finally, he drug his eyes away from the stains on the ceiling. Charlie was still sitting next to him and had a worried look on his face. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. I'm good Charlie." He looked around the rest of table. It was still chaos. No one seemed to be listening to anyone else. They were shouting at each other and at Albus. He knew if Albus wanted he could put an end to the chaos almost immediately but instead the old man was looking at him. He had that damned-twice twinkle in his eye that Harry had learned to dread. He was waiting for him to step up. He wanted Harry to end the chaos. Well, if that's what he wanted then that's what he'd get. He stood up, closed his eyes and let his magic start to unfurl a little bit. He didn't want to release too much and tear the kitchen down but he wanted them to feel his power. He slammed his hands down on the table hard enough to shake the dishes near him and let his magic whip around the room. It was enough to startle everyone in the room into sudden silence.

"Would you all just shut your god damned mouths and sit the fuck down for five fucking seconds so we can get on with it?!" No one was expecting him to say something like that. No one commented on his language. Well, no one except Moody who had been leaning against a wall, chuckling ever since Harry had recited the prophecy.

"Going for the shock factor, lad?" Harry glanced at him but otherwise ignored the comment. His magic was still whipping around the room making the air tense and putting everyone on edge. No one moved from where they were and no one spoke.

"I believe I asked everyone to retake their seats." He spoke calmly now as he began reigning in his magic once more. Everyone sat down.

"The prophecy is true. Voldemort knows part of it and wants to kill me. There is nothing we can do about it now. I was born the last day in July. I've been told that my parents defied Voldemort three times. He marked me when he tried to kill me as a baby. I have a power that he doesn't and either I will kill him or he will kill me. End of story." He had been harsh in his tone, but he had kept his volume normal. He sat back down as he waited for someone to say something. It was Bill who spoke first.

"What is the power that you have that he doesn't?"

He smirked and gave a little laugh before he responded,"Albus thinks its love." He could see the derision on everyone's faces.

"The ability to love is a very powerful thing Harry and it is something that Tom Riddle lost a long time ago." Albus was looking at him now and there was only sadness in his eyes.

"Yeah. Maybe."

Eventually, the meeting got back on track. Albus explained that while Harry had been away, he had used a time turner which had allowed him to train for two years, even though only one year had passed. He told them about Harry's undercover participation in the skirmishes between the Order and the Death Eaters which explained how he had been injured. They had questioned Albus's decision to let him participate in those fights. They said Albus had taken too big a risk. He hadn't spoken up at that point. He had been mostly quiet since Albus had taken control again but he couldn't keep quiet now. They needed to stop seeing him as a child.

"It was a good thing that I got injured in that battle. It knocked me down a few pegs. It reminded me that I was a kid that had a lot to learn if I wanted to survive. It made me realize that I couldn't rely on luck anymore and it made me get my shit together and do what needed to be done."

They had looked at him with doubt then, but let it go. They could tell he was holding something back. That had been his first battle in the real world. Up until that point, he had refused to learn any dark curses and had refused to cast any spells that could permanently injure his opponent. He had thought he could win the war with stunning spells and body binds while the other side used torture spells and killing curses. He had gone into the fight cocky and woefully underprepared. He had been disguised so no one knew who he was. They didn't target him specifically, but it didn't take long for him to realize how outmatched he was. He would leave a death eater stunned and bound only to find himself fighting that same death eater later on after one of his comrades had freed him. They didn't fight fair either. He had been dueling two of them when he was hit from behind. His entire body felt like it was on fire. He had felt like he was burning from the inside. He would have been dead had he not activated the emergency portkey Moody had given him. He woke up in a hospital bed in Romania two day later sore and achy. Moody had told him he would be okay in a couple of days. He had been hit with a blood boiling curse. It's fatal if not treated within an hour and it's a slow painful way to die. As he sat up in bed, Moody asked, "Are you ready to learn now?" That was when he realized that Moody had set him up. He had been livid but he understood now. You can't win a war with stunning spells.

Moody had given him a week in Romania. He spent it with Charlie who had quickly become someone he confided in. He told Charlie about his fear that if he started practicing the dark arts he would become exactly like Voldemort. Charlie assured him that wouldn't be the case. He wanted this meeting to be over soon. He was tired, and he could use a drink.

Albus was talking again. He was telling them about Harry's time in Japan. Harry tuned them out, got up, and walked over to the liquor cabinet. Everything was covered with a layer of dust. He wondered if anyone had touched this cabinet since Sirius had died. Probably not. He and Remus were the only ones who knew the password since Sirius had died. He only knew it because of the journals. They had allowed Remus to come see him a month after he had left. He had been in India with the monks. Remus had told him Sirius had started keeping a journal after he got out of Azkaban. It had helped him get some of his sanity back and reorganize his mind and spending years with the dementors. Remus had given him the journals and said he knew that Sirius would want Harry to have them. Harry had learned a lot about his godfather from those journals. He had learned that Sirius was a raging alcoholic that alcohol stashed all around the house.

No one had paid any attention to him when he had moved to the liquor cabinet. No one except Snape. Severus was standing near his chair and was watching him out of the corner of his eye. Harry tapped his want to the cabinet and whispered the password, "toujours espiègle." He heard the lock click and he opened the cabinet enough to pull out two glasses and Sirius' drink of choice, a bottle of scotch. He quietly closed the cabinet and moved back to his seat keeping the bottle close to his body. He could tell that Severus was the only one who had seen him take the alcohol. He set the glasses down on the table in front of his chair, open the bottle and poured a generous amount into each. At least a few people had realized that he had a bottle of scotch in his hand but before they could say anything he picked up both glasses and walked over to Severus.

"Professor would you like a scotch?" He offered one of the glasses to Severus.

"Why not Potter. If nothing else, the mutt would be rolling in his grave knowing I was drinking his precious alcohol," said Severus in his usual biting tone. Harry knew the man well enough now to know that he was all bark and no bite, at least at that moment. Severus had been instrumental in his training. Who better to teach you how to fight then a man who has spent more than a decade fighting alongside the enemy. He was able to teach Harry to counter the tactics that the death eaters were taught to use. Somewhere along the way they had reached an understanding with each other and eventually, they had become friends.

"Harry, what do you think you are doing?!" shouted Mrs. Weasely. "You are too young to be drinking! And how on earth did you get that cabinet open? It is supposed to be locked!"

"I'm perfectly old enough to drink. Besides, this won't be the first time I've had a drink. Hell, it's not even the first time I've had a drink with Severus" replied Harry.

"You are only sixteen, young man. I don't know what they let you get up to while you were out of the house but in this house, you will not be drinking alcohol until you are no longer in school!" replied Mrs. Weasely haughtily, as she put her hands on her hips.

Harry stiffened. He was livid. "I am seventeen. I used a time turner for an entire year meaning I'm of age now. I'm no longer in school either. I took my NEWTS months ago. And I will damn well do what I please in this house because it is my fucking house. You are all guests here."

As soon as he finished speaking he tossed back his drink and headed for the door. "I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. Good night." As he headed up the stairs and down the hallway towards Sirius' room he tried to even out his breathing. They expected him to fight a damn madman, but he was too young for a drink. Really, what kind of logic was that? He was old enough to go to war and die but too young to hear information about the war. He was an adult now. Well, if they wanted him to lead and fight then they better be prepared for him to do what he pleased.

He had started getting ready to get into bed when he heard people coming up the stairs. It was probably Ron, Ginny, and Hermione being told to go to bed by Mrs. Weasley.

He still had his jeans on, but his shirt was on the bed and his back to the door when Ron had burst in. "Harry, mate?" He grabbed his shirt and threw it back over his head but he could tell by the look on Ron's face that he had seen.

"Harry, those scars! What happened to you?"

"Nothing Ron. What do you need?"

"But Harry, wha—," Ron started to ask again but Harry interrupted him.

"Ron. What do you want?"

"I was just seeing if you were coming to bed. Mum got your cot all set up this morning."

"I'm sleeping in here Ron."

"But this was Sirius' room."

"It was his parents' room before it was his and now it's mine."

"Oh. Good night then, I guess."

"Night Ron."

Ron closed the door behind him, and Harry sank down onto the bed. It was harder being back then he thought it was going to be.


End file.
